Home Security News

Home Inventory Software Is Inexpensive Yet Valuable

If it's been a while since you updated your homeowners insurance, you may have accumulated more goodies since then, making your coverage a bit outdated.  A good way to determine the value of all your belongings is to get some home inventory software and make a big list.

Not only is an inventory a good idea from a home insurance perspective, but it can be helpful in case you ever are robbed.  You'll be able to efficiently go through everything and figure out what is missing so you can make an accurate report to the police.  That's better than realizing you forgot about some things months down the line.

Home Inventory Software Options

When it comes to home inventory software, there are quite a few options, and they are all fairly inexpensive, running about $20 to $30. 

You can get programs that simply load onto your computer, but if you're worried that your computer could be stolen, it may make sense to sign up with an online home inventory program.  In these cases, your list of goods is stored on a server on the Internet, so you'll still have access to your list, even if your computer is swiped.  Online programs tend to be more expensive since you'll pay an annual fee (usually around $30).

Home Inventory Software Programs

Here are a couple of the options on the market:

Everything I Own by mycroftcomputing.com -- $19.95

Homeowner Site at home.ownersite.com -- $29.95 a year (online storage)

Shop Online for Good Home Insurance Prices

Homeowner's insurance is something you pretty much need to have.  Chances are you had to sign up for a policy just to get a mortgage from the bank (after all, they own your house until you have the loan paid off, and they don't want their asset burning down), but you might not have gotten the best rates then.  Or you might have remodeled (and improved the value of your home) or purchased a lot more items today that you want insured. 

It's important to keep your homeowners insurance up to date so you're covered in the event of an emergency.  At the same time, you don't want to pay more for your premium than you have to.  Fortunately, the Internet makes comparing quotes from different insurance companies a lot easier than it used to be.

There are lots of sites that can give you quotes.  One of them is InsureLog.com.

You can get quotes on just about every type of insurance there, and they are available for all states in the U.S.  They also have a specific page for home insurance quotes.  There you can get rate comparisons from several companies offering insurance in your area.  This allows you to get the coverage you need at the best rate possible.

The site also has numerous articles on homeowners insurance, so if you have questions it's a good place to browse.  For instance, did you know that having certain breeds of dog could affect your insurance rates?  Do you know if flooding is covered in your current policy?  Do you need homeowners' insurance if you live in a condo or townhouse?  All these questions are covered in articles on the Insure Log site, so check them out if you're shopping for better rates or just looking for information on the subject.

Home Insurance Quotes

*Sponsored Post

Costly Home Insurance Mistake

When people buy a new home, they need to get homeowner's insurance, but many of them make a costly mistake. They insure their homes for the mortgage balance.

Why is this a mistake?  Because when you buy a house, you're buying the property underneath it. That property is still going to be yours if there is a hurricane, earthquake, or other natural disaster.  What you really need to cover is the cost of rebuilding your house and recovering your belonings.  Depending on where you live, you could be paying 100,000s just for the land.  That's not something you need to insure with homeowner's insurance. 

Remember, when you're shopping for home insurance, you just want to cover the home's market value, and don't worry about the indestructable land your house is perched upon.

Even if you already have an insurance policy where you paid for the land, it's not too late to change.  You can get quotes online from several insurers:

Get multiple Home Insurance quotes for free.

Home Insurance Quotes for Landlords

If you're a landlord of a house, numerous houses, or even an apartment complex, you know that you need insurance just as much as the renters do (well, probably more so... you have a lot more to lose if something happens to your rental properties).  But if you haven't taken a look at  your policy lately, you may be paying more than you have to. 

Today, the Internet makes it very easy to get quotes online, and they're specific to your zip code, too, so very pertinent to your needs.  One place you can go for quotes is Insure Me.  You just enter your zip code and that you are a landlord looking for quotes for your rental properties, and the site runs a search.  This is a pretty painless way to check and see if you're paying more than you need to be for insurance.

Insurance Quotes for Rental Properties

Make Sure to Shop Around for Lower Home Insurance Premiums

If you haven't thought about your homeowner's insurance policy in a while, chances are you need to take it out and give it a once over.  For one thing, you may need more insurance coverage if your property has gone up in value, as so many people's has over the real estate boom of the last few years.  Another reason to check it out is that you may be able to get lower rates today.

Thanks to the Internet, it's easier than every to shop around for the best rates on homeowner's insurance.  Sites like Insure Me allow you to comparison shop by zip code.  You can get rate quotes on insurance for your house, condo, or townhouse, and you can also get quotes on renter's insurance for apartments or houses.  It's an easy way to make sure you're not paying more than you should.

Home Insurance Quotes

Free Home Inventory Software

Part of learning about home security is learning that you need to prepare for the worst case scenario.  If you're robbed or something happens to your house (hurricane anyone?), you'll need to contact your insurance company, but the only way to make sure you get everything you're owed is to make sure your belongings are inventoried.  A home inventory is a must have.  How to take a Home Invetory recommends SAFE Plus Home Inventory Software, but now the Insurance Information Institute has a downloadable home inventory program available on their front page (free), so check it out if you haven't done an inventory of your belongings recently (or ever).

How to Reduce Home Insurance Costs

We all want to feel safe and protected in our homes, but none of us want to pay an arm and a leg for homeowners insurance.  A recent article from an online newspaper offers several tips for reducing your homeowners insurance rates.  Examples are raising your deductable, insuring just your home and not the land it's sitting on, adding a home security system, and bundling your home insurance policy with other insurance policies such as auto and life because you can typically get discounts this way.

Read Tips on Reducing Home Owner Insurance Costs for more information.

Renters Insurance--Why Renters Need Insurance, Too

A lot of renters either think they are covered by the building insurance of their apartment's owners, or just don't worry about renters insurance, thinking nothing will happen to them (yeah, that's smart).  Only 12% of renters have renters' insurance, says recent Yahoo! press release with monstrously long title "American Anxiety Is High -- But Few People Are Adequately Insured Against the Things They Fear Most."  Other recent news articles show why renters without insurance could lose everything they have.  Examples are Fire raises issue of renters’ insurance and Uninsured renters could get costly lesson.

These articles emphasize that renters, whether their belongings are stolen in a burglary or a fire breaks out in the building, are not covered by their landlord's insurance.  In some cases, you may owe tons if it was your accident that started the fire that wrecked the whole building... Renter's insurance can be as low as $10 a month, and can provide a lot of peace of mind.

You can get a free quote online from InsureMe.Com (just select the "home insurance quote" and you'll have the option to get renters insurance under there).

If you want to do a little more reading on renters insurance, check out Renter's Insurance: How to Get the Best Coverage for the Cheapest Price from Amazon.com (or the local library).

The Importance of Updating Your Home Insurance Policy

A recent article called appropriate "Updating Home Insurance Advised" takes a look at why updating your homeowners insurance from time to time is important.  Like a lot of things, we buy home insurance (often as much because we have to in order to get a loan as out of a real desire to spend that money every month) and then don't think about it until we need it.  It's important to realize that the insurance you bought a couple years ago might not be properly covering today's assets though.  Also, shopping around today may get you better rates than the ones that were available a few years back.  Take a look at this quote from the article and see if you're covering all bases:

According to the New York-based Insurance Information Institute, homeowners need enough insurance to cover the structure of their home; their personal possessions; the cost of additional living expenses if the home is damaged and they need to live somewhere else; and their liability to others.

If you're browsing online, you can visit insureme.com to shop and compare multiple home insurance quotes for free.

Barcode Scanner Makes Home Inventory Easy

You probably know you're supposed to keep a thorough record of all your assets in order to prove your losses in the event of a burglary or natural disaster--that's the only way you'll be properly recouped by your home insurance company. But... it can be a real pain to keep a record up to date, especially when you start adding up all the small but valuable things like CDs, DVDs, computer games, and books.

There are several software packages out there designed to help you with your home inventory, but only a few come with barcode scanners.  These handheld devices zap your belongings and automatically record them on your computer, showing both the name of the item and a short description. This makes it easy to keep track of what you own both for personal reasons and more importantly for home insurance reasons.

The Cordless Collector, put out by Intelli Innovatons, Inc., comes with home barcode scanner and software. You can get scanners that work with either USB or wireless Bluetooth technology. http://www.intellisw.com/intelliscanner/express/index.html